The Edgewater Community Religious Association will host its annual Thanksgiving service at 3 pm on Sunday, November 19 at the Ismaili Center, 6259 N. Broadway Ave. . It will feature speakers, music, and sacred readings from various faiths represented in our community. There will be a reception to follow.

​At the service, we will also be collecting canned goods to benefit Care for Real, the Edgewater food pantry.

Caravan Counseling, a resource ministry of NSBC, is offering an open, quiet place available to the community for those who desire to sit, reflect, be centered, pray, or meditate during Election Day. All are welcome!

The meditation space will be available on Tuesday, November 6th, with drop-in times from 10am-8pm in Nambu Chapel, across from the polling area.

On Sunday, November 4, the entire church will gather to worship in all four languages at 10:30 am in the sanctuary. Pastor Michael Ware, the new pastor of the English language congregation, will be preaching. After worship, a light lunch will be provided.

Pastor Roger Poenyunt cuts the cake at the celebration of the 8th anniversary of the Karen Fellowship

By Cecilia Poenyunt, First Lady Emerita of the Karen Fellowship

​This year, we will celebrate 9 years of the Karen Fellowship with a thanksgiving worship service and meal on September 16th at 12:30 pm in Howell Hall.

Pastor Roger Poenyunt arrived in Chicago on June 11, 2008. Before this, Po Clee and several other families had come to Chicago in 2007and started attending North Shore Baptist Church. The first week we [Roger and Cecilia] came to church, we met the Karen families who had come before us. Po Clee, who came to church first, introduced Pastor Roger to [English Language] Pastors Carol [McVetty] and Doug [Harris[, which is how we came to know each other. A few months later, Pastor Roger began work as Karen Fellowship Pastor, but then we only gathered and worshipped with the English service. On September 13th, 2009, we got room in Kraft Chapel and started the Karen Fellowship worship service. So every year in September, we celebrate our anniversary with thanksgiving in Howel Hall.From 2008-2010, more Karen families arrived. Later, some families moved to Minnesota; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; Waterloo, Iowa; Utica, New York; as well as Rock Island and Rockford, Illinois. We now have only fifteen families remaining in Chicago. By the grace of God, the Karen Fellowship members work and worship together every week at 11:30 am, after fellowship time.

In December of 2017, Pastor Roger retired from work because of his declining health, resulting from cancer treatment. From December to June 2018, he returned to Myanmar. Now, by the grace of God, we have a new pastor, Rev. Eh Plo Soe, from Rockford. Rev. Eh Plo Soe’s installation service on July 29 featured guests from many places. Rev. Eh Plo Soe moved to Chicago on August 1, and some members of the Karen Fellowship helped him move into his apartment in Ravenswood.

Every year, the neighborhood of Lakewood Balmoral has a yard sale the Saturday after Labor Day. The church always provides hospitality (water and restrooms). We also set up food stands featuring traditional cuisines from our different congregations.

This year, we have decided to celebrate the talents of our family, friends, and neighbors by hosting a Crafts & Vendor Fair. We hope to offer a variety of local, handmade items.

If you are a crafter or artisan and would be interested in participating, please review the information at the link below, and fill out the included form.

This summer, we will again be hosting a Summer Mission Explorers series for our children. Rather than doing a one-week VBS program, we will be gathering during the traditional Adventures in Learning hour -Sundays from 11:30-12:30 - to learn more about the mission work of the church and do crafts together. Summer Mission Explorers will take place on July 29, August 12, August 19, and August 26.

​This year, we will learn more about the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America; the church's work in Retalhuleu, Guatemala; the Samaritana Ministry in the Philippines; and our lunch and shower ministry for those experiencing homelessness.